PROMETHEUS by Pamela Powell

PROMETHEUS opened after SO much advertising and hoopla that I think I was expecting the second coming.  Trust me, it wasn't.  Let me put it another way, I wasn't blown away nor was I bored; I was something in between.  Prometheus, starring Noomi Rapace (from my favorite version of The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo), Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce and Michael Fassbender, was advertised more than The Hunger Games, believe it or not!  Every magazine had something on its cover about Alien, Ridley Scott, and/or Prometheus.  Hush, hush, secret stuff about is it really a prequel to Alien or is it its own story in its own right.  The marketing department did its job.  I was hooked and I hadn't even seen Alien in its entirety before!

OK, I'm going to get it over with right now.  It took me a good 20 minutes of the movie before I did NOT think about Michael Fassbender in SHAME and focus on his current role as David in Prometheus.  There.  Done.  No more references to SHAME.  Whew!  I was expecting sold out audiences so I purchased my NON-3D ticket ahead of time and ended up sitting with about 10 other people for the movie.  Shouldn't have paid that $1 service charge after all.  That was my first red flag.  I also spent the afternoon watching the original 1979 ALIEN to see all of it for the first time.  Don't even ask me why I hadn't seen it before.  Actually, here's the answer...I was too young when it came out! HA!  Anyway, it's a really good flick!  Relax all you Ridley Scott fans!  I know I have just offended you by referring to it as that, but hey, I'm just an everyday gal watching and reviewing movies.  I did think the special effects for that time were pretty good and I will admit to gasping and jumping in my comfy recliner a few times.    I loved the camera work and how they built suspense visually for an intellectual BOO!  It worked.  It wasn't your typical alien horror flick as it didn't try to capitalize on the gross-out factor, but there were some pretty gross scenes.  That being said, I don't think Prometheus measured up to its parent Alien.  It even had some duplication which in my mind wasn't creative.  And yes, Prometheus is the prequel which makes the original the sequel, but since it was made before the prequel, I'm going to call it the "pre-prequel sequel".

The location of the movie was Iceland as well as the United Kingdom.  They couldn't have found  more fitting locations to portray an inhospitable environment.  In addition, technology has advanced the special effects department tremendously which made this a visually intriguing movie.  As with Snow White and the Huntsman, I was in awe of what I saw on screen.  I'm not going to spoil anything for those of you who will go and see Prometheus so I will leave it at that.

The story answered a few questions left lingering in space from Alien.  It explained the Why's and Who's not known prior to this.  In hindsight, I could have and probably should have watched Prometheus this afternoon and Alien this evening.  Oh, well.  The story is now complete, but to me not wonderfully told.  I saw lots of explosions and chases and there was a major "gross-out" factor that I equate with today's horror flicks.  I would guess that that happened because it could:  special effects allow it.

If you're an Alien or Ridley Scott fan, you're going to see this whether I give it 1 Reel or 10.  If you don't fall into these categories, I would wait for the release of the DVD.  If you feel you must succumb to the over-the-top marketing and go to the theater to see it, you will be entertained.  Just don't expect it to out-do the original.

6.5 Reels